Jobs: Rich kids have the edge

LONDON: Only children from the richest British families can enjoy careers in top professions like law and medicine because of increasingly impenetrable social barriers, a government-commissioned report said yesterday.

The study, led by former Labor government minister Alan Milburn, said there was a "closed shop mentality" in many professions, which excluded young people from low- and middle-income backgrounds.

"Frankly there are too many kids out there from average income families who are bright ... and who want to go on to get a top professional career but haven't got the right connections, haven't necessarily gone to the right school, maybe haven't had the chance to go to university, and that has all got to change," Milburn told BBC radio.